All About The Base

Looking after your skin is a chore at the best of times and can even be time consuming, however prepping your skin for makeup application makes a huge difference to the end result of your transformation process.

When exfoliating try not to use a rough mitt more than every other night as they can actually irritate your skin and allow more dirt into your skin as you are most likely not only removing the dry skin, but other layers too. My personal skin routine is to exfoliate gently every other evening with a mitt and facial wash – Clinique cleansing liquid facial soap is a great product as it does not dry out the skin, which I find a lot of high street brands do. Another great product for exfoliating is sphyto liquid exfoliating treatment – this product is applied when the skin is dry and then simply washed off with a spritz of water and a cotton pad.

Before applying any makeup a simple cleanse should be done. To find the right products for you, you must determine your skin type. The main skin types are; dry, oily, dehydrated, combination, sensitive and normal. If you’re anything like me, finding the right product is somewhat of a challenge and most of the words on the packaging are nothing but gibberish. Well ladies I’m sorry to say but generally the more expensive the product is, the better the results. Because I have dry skin I use Guinot “lait hydra confort” moisturising milk. This is a product that’s not too thick so doesn’t prevent the skin from breathing. Once cleansed use a facial oil to rehydrate and nourish the skin. A lot of people think that if you have oily skin you shouldn’t use oils – this is not the case. The plant oils are totally different to the oils your skin produces. When you cleanse, you strip all of your skins natural oils which it then makes up for by reproducing more oils. By using an oil you are replenishing your skin with the fatty acids which prevents your skin from over producing natural oils that cause things such as blocked pores and spots. Water based oils are particularly good for oily skin. Clinique do a great range of oils for different skin types which I would really recommend. You may then want to use a primer, especially around the eyes to really open them up. If you have open pores try to find a product to accommodate that such as benefit “pore fessional”. You can then add a light moisturiser to your foundation to create a tinted moisturiser adding that extra bit of glow to your flawless skin.

– When applying the oil, massage into skin by gently massaging with your knuckles along your jaw line and your index finger under your eyes. This helps reduce toxin and water build up under the skin. (Great for a hangover!!)

– Use a disposable mascara brush and lip balm and gently rub over your lips quickly to remove dead skin from the lips so that your lippy is luxurious!

By Connie O’Neill